Inje County to Create 15km Maple Forest Trail from "Silence of My Beloved"

Inje County, Seoraksan, and Baekdamsa Join Forces
to Create a Pilgrimage-Style Ecological Trail
MOU Signed for Ecological and Cultural Development in the Baekdam Area
Manhae Han Yong-un’s "Maple Forest"
Revived in Seoraksan’s Landscape After 100 Years

On April 14, Inje County in Gangwon Province signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the Seoraksan National Park Office with the Korea National Park Service Seoraksan National Park Office and Baekdamsa Temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism for the 'Development of Ecological and Cultural Exploration Resources in the Baekdam Area of Seoraksan.'

On the 14th, Inje County signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the "Creation of Ecological and Cultural Exploration Resources in the Baekdam District of Seoraksan" together with the Korea National Park Service Seoraksan National Park Office and Baekdamsa Temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism at the Seoraksan National Park Office. Provided by Inje County

This agreement was established to commemorate the 100th anniversary in 2026 of Manhae Han Yong-un's representative poetry collection, "Silence of My Beloved." It aims to recreate the historical and cultural significance of the "maple forest" described in the poem’s line, "Breaking through the blue mountain light, toward the maple forest," by actually creating such a maple forest.

The county plans to develop the approximately 15-kilometer section connecting Manhae Village, Baekdamsa, and Oseam as a pilgrimage-style forest trail rather than a simple hiking path, thereby establishing exploration content that combines Seoraksan’s natural scenery with humanities resources.

Rather than merely planting trees, the project will be promoted as a "growth-type commemorative project" by securing, propagating, and planting native plants over a 10-year period from 2026 to 2035.

Each organization will operate a close cooperation system to ensure the successful implementation of the project.

Inje County will support administrative procedures such as obtaining the necessary permits and providing a budget for seedling production and resource development, while the Seoraksan National Park Office will be responsible for site surveys, securing genetic seeds of native plants, managing nurseries, and planting.

Baekdamsa Temple has agreed to allow the use of temple-owned land and to provide historical and cultural content linked to the philosophy of Manhae.

This project aims to enhance both environmental value and the local economy.

By planting native species, the county intends to strengthen the national park’s carbon sinks to address the climate crisis, while also creating new tourism demand by linking the project with Baekdam Station on the Chuncheon–Sokcho KTX line, which is scheduled to open in 2028.

In particular, the plan is to create a cultural forest that the entire nation can nurture together by utilizing citizen participation tree-planting events and the Hometown Love Donation program.

An official from Inje County stated, "We will devote ten years of dedication to bringing the 'small path toward the maple forest' sung by Manhae a century ago to life, fostering the Baekdam area as one of Korea’s premier ecological exploration destinations, harmonizing humanistic sensibility and natural scenery."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.